Posted by Travis Keune in Horror, Remakes, TV | 6 comments
Pennywise is coming to the Big Screen!
Some BIG news here for fans of Stephen King… not so good for those who suffer coulrophobia (that’s the fear of clowns). Warner Bros is developing a big screen adaptation of Stephen King’s beloved best-selling horror novel It. Dave Kajganich (The Invasion) has been brought on to write the screenplay.
While the TV mini-series wasn’t “perfect” it was a great telling of the story. King’s novels, especially his older/longer novels, I feel work better as mini-series because with more screen time than a typical feature film, more of the story makes the cut. So, it’ll be interesting to see how this version works, or doesn’t?
For those of you who HAVEN’T read the book, or at least seen the TV mini-series, here’s the breakdown:
…follows a group of kids called the Losers Club that encounter a creature called It, which preys on children and whose favorite form is that of a sadistic clown called Pennywise. When the creature resurfaces, the kids are called upon to regroup again, this time as adults, even though they have no memory of the first battle. — HR
The novel takes place during two eras, 1958 and 1985, which chronicles the central characters’ experience with Pennywise the Clown as children and again as adults. Apparently, the new feature adaptation will take place in modern day. Not sure what this means about the childhood back story… whether it will be cut or not. The TV mini-series starred John Ritter, Harry Anderson and Annette O’Toole.
However, the truly golden part of the mini-series was Tim Curry as Pennywise! So, this begs the question… who plays Pennywise in the feature adaptation? Sure, we could easily say Tim Curry, but come on… we all know that’s not going to happen. After all, Robert Englund isn’t playing Freddy Krueger in that remake. One thing’s for sure, they sure as Hell better not go full CGI!
[source: Hollywood Reporter]
It would be cool if they made 2 movies. The first one based on the original altercation the kids had with Pennywise and then a second act where the kids are all older and they face him yet again. They could set the first one in the 80′s and the second one in the 2010′s. it would allow so much more charter development and still stay true to the story. The making of the movies would go the same way, albeit on a smaller scale, as the LOTR movies. (eg multiple releases. for more revenue generation)
I like the double feature idea. The story is long enough.
Finally something worth remaking. The original series was cool, but it was a tv series. This is a clown that torments children. This could be made really dark and fucked up, and be awesome.
If you know the book you know they left out alot of details the really freaky and scary ones so to remake it like the book sence we have all the tech we have now would blow it out of the park if done right hell yea it would be worth it to see but Tim Curry would have to be pennywise again
I have been waiting for this for YEARS. If they change their minds, I will be seriously pissed. This was one of my all-time favorite Stephen King movies, and while they did a pretty good job with the original, it was made for TV. Stephen King had to fight for the gory parts and kids swearing and things like that that did make it into the TV movie. The fact that they are already saying it’s R-rated, makes my day. That means that a lot of the stuff that was cut, will (hopefully be put back). I was beyond disappointed that they didn’t have the show-down between the Losers Club and Pennywise as the Werewolf in the house on Neibolt Street, and also the part with Beverly giving herself to each of the boys in turn, to get them out when they were in the sewers. (No, I am not a pervert or anything like that, nor do I condone sex between children.) I just think that it was a very poignant scene in the book.
Who should play Pennywise? Hmmm, that’s a very good question. Whoever does it has very big shoes to fill, as Tim Curry delivered a very convincing, scary performance. I’d have to admit that one of my choices is Ralph Fiennes (Lord Voldemort from Harry Potter), as I think that he makes a pretty good bad guy, and could play the role convincingly. But he’s not my top pick. I’m going to have to give this some serious thought.
I also think another good touch would be having the people that were kids in the original (the Losers Club, Bowers’s gang, etc.), play the adult versions now.